Detail from The Temptation by William Strang. 1899. Oil on canvas. Tate Gallery.
The account of the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Bible is relatively succinct, particularly in the vocal exchanges between the serpent, Eve, and Adam (bolded below). What details we know of the Fall come primarily from chapter 3 of Genesis:
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Gen. 3:1-7)
Some Armenian Apocrypha manuscripts have been translated into English in recent decades which expand on the Fall narrative substantially, and which are enlightening to compare and contrast with the Genesis account and the account as presented in the temple ((As suggested by Dr. Tvedtnes in his FAIR presentation below)). LDS scholars John Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper have helped bring this literature to light for us ((John A. Tvedtnes, “Early Christian and Jewish Rituals Related to Temple Practices,” 1999 FAIR Conference; John A. Tvedtnes, “The King Follett Discourse in the Light of Ancient and Medieval Jewish and Christian Beliefs,” 2004 FAIR Conference; Matthew Roper, “Adam in Ancient Texts and the Restoration,” 2006 FAIR Conference.)). English translations of the Armenian Apocrypha texts can be found by W. Lowndes Lipscomb and Michael Stone ((W. Lowndes Lipscomb, The Armenian Apocryphal Adam Literature, University of Pennsylvania, 1990; Michael Stone, Armenian Apocrypha Relating to Adam and Eve, Leiden: Brill, 1996.)). Michael Stone’s book Armenian Apocrypha Relating to Adam and Eve is available for limited reading on Google Books.
I would like to compare what is presented about the Fall in the Armenian Apocrypha with what is known in the Genesis account, particularly the additional details which are absent from the Bible. Any comparisons with the temple account will be left for the reader to make. The part of the apocrypha that we will look at has been called Adam and Eve and the Incarnation, and as noted by Stone “was composed in Armenian, incorporating ancient traditions originating both within and outside Armenian literature” ((Stone, 10.)).
One of the first things I notice in paragraph 2 of the Armenian texts is that the serpent is clearly identified with Satan, which is not explicit in Genesis. One of the manuscripts reads:
The evil one, Satan, . . . having entered into the belly of the serpent, he spoke to Eve with human voice, and he said to Eve, “Why is it that you do not eat of the fruit of that tree?” ((Stone, 23.))
In another manuscript, Satan calls the fruit “beautiful.” In all manuscripts, Satan refers specifically to “that tree” or “this fruit,” whereas in Genesis the question is more general, “hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3:1). Eve responds by telling Satan of the commandment as given to them by God. Satan then replies, in one of the manuscripts:
But the serpent said, “(That is) not so! Because God himself was a man like you when he ate of it, and he became God of all. Because of that he said not to eat of that, because you knew that when you eat of it, you will become a god, his equal. Because of that he said for you not to eat.” ((Stone, 25.))
This is substantially different than the Genesis account. In Genesis, the partaking of the fruit is noted by Satan as causing eyes to be opened, and that they would become “as gods,” by “knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). In this apocryphal account Satan goes further to note that God was once a man too, and that He became God by eating of the fruit, and thus became divine. If Adam and Eve partake of it they will become like Him, or “his equal.” Stone also notes here that text is explicit “that God was himself originally human and became divine through eating the fruit” ((ibid.)). These are interesting details to consider, for even though it is Satan who speaks, there is both truth and error in his words to Eve (see Gen. 3:22).
After hearing this, Eve partakes of the fruit, and is stripped of her light or glory. At this point the Armenian text embellishes the story significantly from what is contained in the Genesis account. In Genesis it is only noted that Eve “gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:6). But what was the interchange between Eve and Adam? Did Adam say anything to Eve on the occasion? Did Adam protest at all? What did Eve say? How did Eve convince Adam to partake? These details are strangely absent from the Genesis account, and there is no account of any conversation there.
The Armenian texts provide further details, including a conversation between Adam and Eve. One of the manuscripts says:
When she came to Adam and he saw and said, “Why is it that you have been stripped naked? Did you eat of that fruit?” Eve said, “O Adam, take (it) and eat!” Adam said, “I fear (lest) I become stripped naked like you.” ((Stone, 27.))
In other words, upon recognizing what Eve has done, Adam immediately interrogates Eve with questions of what she has done, why she is stripped, and if she has eaten of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Eve only wants Adam to also eat of the fruit. Adam protests doing it, for he knows that he too will be stripped of his glory.
Eve responds that Adam is beloved of God, and might not be angry with him. John Tvedtnes notes that Adam says “I cannot taste it and become like you” ((FAIR 1999 presentation. See note above.)). Eve invites Adam to partake again. Tvedtnes also notes in one translation that Eve tells Adam that “This fruit is extremely sweet and tasty” ((ibid.)). Adam holds the fruit in his hand, and ponders eating the fruit for some time (in one account three hours). One manuscript relates Adam’s thoughts: “If I do not eat, I shall be separated from my wife” ((Stone, 29.)). In another manuscript Eve also echos similar words:
Do not forget me and do not separate me from you, and do not abandon me in this nakedness of mine. Take (it) and eat and because of love of you, God will turn and have mercy upon us. ((Stone, 31.))
Adam considers the consequences and partakes:
“It is preferable to die with the woman than to be separated from her.” He took and consumed the fruit, and was stripped naked of the light. ((Stone, 33))
And so we see that the Armenian text adds quite a bit of detail to the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve, much of which is not present in the Genesis account.
That is interesting. Thanks for posting it.
When I read stuff like this, I always ask myself, “How come I never found this before?” I know it’s not hidden and if I were a professional scholar in Biblical studies, I’m sure I would be familiar with it. But I’m not and so I thank you for bringing it to our attention and for the great footnotes.
Yes, very interesting, thanks for pulling this together Bryce.
This is great, Bryce. Thank you!
The thing that fascinates me the most here is the garment of light Adam and Eve had. I’ve seen other references to it, but in this account it’s noticeably gone when Adam meets Eve after she partook.
It would be nice to find (or create!) artwork depicting such a difference between Adam and Eve.
Hi!
Perhaps it may also be helpful listening to the “Inspiring Audio Minute” by Rabbi Shraga.
http://www.aish.com/torahportion/inspiringaudiominute/Precautionary_Measures.asp
Greetings,
Daniel
Good stuff Bryce! I wonder if there are any other references to God at one time being a man.
Bryce, this is excellent. I wonder what the world thinks when they see the phrase arise suggesting our potential to become like him? This is very interesting…
“(That is) not so! Because God himself was a man like you when he ate of it, and he became God of all”
Bryce, I have been checking your blog for the last month or so and have to tell you that it has been very interesting. Thanks for all the work you have put into this.
Oh this brings back so many good memories! I studied many apocryphal accounts of the fall of Adam and Eve. It is amazing the things that can be found on those documents.
I remember (I think in the Slavonic version) that Adam and Eve, after being cast out of the Garden of Eden, go into a state of penitence and fasting. They knew Satan would try to distract them from their fast and agree to communicate with each other through “tokens” so that they would know their communication is genuine and not from Satan.
I think Adam says to Eve that he will come and find her, but to not believe what he says unless he presents to her the “token.” I will have to go back and find this and post it here!
xxxvi 1 And Adam said to me: ‘Haste thee to the river, named Tigris, and take a great stone and place it under thy feet, and enter into the stream and clothe thyself with water, as with a cloak, up to the neck, and pray to God in thy heart and let no word proceed out of thy mouth.’ And
2 I said: ‘O (my) lord, with my whole heart will I call upon God.’ And Adam said to me:
3 ‘Take great care of thyself. Except thou seest me and all my tokens, depart not out of the water, nor trust in the words, which are said to thee, lest thou fall again into the snare.’ And
4 Adam came to Jordan and he entered into the water and he plunged himself altogether into the flood, even (to) the hairs of his head, while he made supplication to God and sent (up) prayers to Him.
Sorry, I had some technical difficulties there. The text I just posted was from the Slavonic “Life of Adam and Eve.” You can see it at: http://www.ccel.org/c/charles/otpseudepig/slanev.htm
In this translation it says “tokens” but in other translations it says “features.” It would be good to talk to someone who knows Slavonic to see what the original word is.
Bryce, this was a great post! I’m glad you put that “God was once a man” line in there. I am wanting to use that in a paper for school, but it is so hard to find any background for where such a notion came from. I will check out J. Tvedtnes’ paper that you linked to. Thanks!
David
It’s not a baptism, per se. Adam is seeking out acts of penance to repent for his sin, for at this point no such way has yet been revealed. He gets an idea, and runs with it, and has Eve perform the same. It’s a form of self-torture.
There is more about Adam and Eve losing their brightness and their eyes no longer seeing as they could before in The Forgotten Books of Eden: First [and Second] Book of Adam and Eve.
I just read an Adam book called The Cave of Treasures. It said that God clothed Adam and Eve with “skins” made from the inner bark of trees (?? ) I always thought it was animal skins. The translator reasons that there were no animals to kill because in Eden there were just one set of each kind–one male, one female–and no reproductions yet. Does anyone know of a clarification of these ideas?
Melissa,
The Cave of Treasures is great! However, I certainly wouldn’t take it as “scripture” or as an authoritative account of the Adam and Eve story. Sometimes when we read these texts we need to take into account when they were written, by whom, and also realize that they only represent a certain strand of tradition or combination of traditions. The Cave of Treasures is attributed to Ephrem of Syria, who, although he was a brilliant theologian and writer, lived in the 4th century AD and was exposed to all kinds of different traditions, both Jewish and Christian, regarding Adam and Eve.
Genesis says that they were given coats of “skins”. It doesn’t specify, at least in English, what kind of skins. Did God have to go kill some animals to give Adam and Eve these “skins”? That’s a good question. I think the translator is giving a great insight when he says that there was no reproduction yet. Of course, we just can’t know if it was animal skins or tree bark or something else. What Ephrem is telling us in the Book of Treasures was likely his best interpretation of what happened or a tradition passed on to him, perhaps by some old animal activist Christians (J/K).
However, most modern interpreters do understand these “skins” to be animals skins, and interpret this giving of skins as a result of the institution of animal sacrifice by God as a symbol to Adam and Eve of Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
The Hebrew word used in Gen 3:21 (‘or) does usually refer to an animal skin, hide, or leather. In the Greek (which is what most Christians would have read, initially), the word (dermatinos) also refers to animals skin or leather. So your understanding of them being animal skins is probably the safest bet. I’m not sure where Ephrem got that tradition, and it would be interesting to know, but it seems to be outside a normative interpretation.
One more note–it is interesting in the dictionaries where I looked up the Greek and Hebrew translations, both indicate that this “garment” was supposed to be a long undergarment worn next to the skin and that priests wore this garment. Of course that is probably no surprise for readers of this blog.
Thanks, David Larsen. I just found this Temple Study site over the weekend and I love it! I have been a Nibley “scholar” for the past 7 years and it is very difficult to find local members to talk to who have an interest in the deeper research of the Gospel.
Are you saying they were clothed until they ate the forbidden fruit? If that’s the case remember they were naked and not ashamed. It is interesting these texts but not scripture, yet anyway. What’s important is to do what we know and have now from the Church which is Christ’s.
Insofar as to Adam and Eve’s garment of light, before the fall, I took a look at Hugh Nibley’s Temple and Cosmos,
I suggest pages 124 to 132. Also I have a book called “The Other Bible”, by Harper and Row, 1984,reference p.34.
I call it a Genesis Haggadah, it talks about the same garment of light Adam and Eve had before the Fall, also that
their skin was not as we have now,but was more like a shell, with the garment of light over it. Suggesting to me that
once they lost the garment of light by eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge,they lost the protection of their
garment of light. They apparently got that at the time before they were placed in the Garden of Eden.